UK Gambling and EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives

How will UK Gambling and EU anti-money laundering directives be affected by new legislation which comes into effect on 27th June 2017?

During June 2015, the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (EU) No. 2015/849 entered into force. EU Member States have to implement the 4th Anti-Money-Laundering Directive (AMLD) by 26 June 2017 into national law.

The UK Government has announced that only the holders of UK Casino Operating Licences will be affected by the latest money laundering regulations. The latest AMLDs are to become law in a few months time.

The government has said it will exempt gambling sectors which deemed lower risk. The exception will be non-remote and remote casinos which will not be exempted from the new directives. EU member states had the option of removing gambling services as an “obliged entry” if they wished to do so.

The government came to the decision to do that after consulting with the UK National Risk Assessment. They deemed gambling to be low risk compared to other regulated sectors. The UK Gambling Commission produced a risk report during October 2016. They were quick to point out at that risk levels attributed to a particular gambling sector are not static and will vary over time.

This pragmatic approach was taken on the basis that the gambling industry has special relationships with most customers and already monitors irregularities. Fact finding missions had determined that.

Conclusion

The new directives will have an impact of the gambling industry in the same was as other industries. The good news is that the industry has not been singled out for special treatment. Many thought that might happen.

Amongst other things, the 4th AMLD will introduce a requirement for gambling providers to carry out more stringent due diligent checks. Payments of more than €2,000 will now come under scrutiny of the directives.

So, for UK Gambling and EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives it should be pretty much business as usual.